


Pack is Pack, No Matter How Far

by HappyJuicyfruit



Series: If These Ears Could Talk [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Derek Hale Takes Care of Stiles Stilinski, First Time, Fluff, Getting Together, Good Alpha Derek Hale, M/M, Monster of the Week, Pack Dynamics, Slow Build Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Stiles Stilinski Takes Care Of Derek Hale, Stiles is Hard of Hearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2017-12-13
Packaged: 2019-02-14 10:17:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13005630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappyJuicyfruit/pseuds/HappyJuicyfruit
Summary: Derek tries to deal with his pack moving away for college. Stiles helps (a lot).





	Pack is Pack, No Matter How Far

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! 
> 
> This is the second part of the If These Ears Could Talk series, but you can read it on its own. The only thing you need to know from the first one is that Stiles is hard of hearing, and Derek did not realize for a while. They argued a lot but now it's all good. 
> 
> I took a few courses of sign language in high school, and knew a few people who were hard of hearing/deaf. I tried to make it as realistic and respectful as possible. Sentences that are italicized and in quotations are being spoken with sign. Sign language is not spoken like English, the words don't usually match up perfectly, but I wrote what they are meaning to say not the way they would say it in sign (hope that makes sense). 
> 
> No real warnings needed for this one. There is a lot of mention of hard of hearing issues if that might be a problem for you. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think in the comments :) :)

Now that all the pack members were linked, the pack bonds were stronger than ever.  Derek’s wolf preened every night before bed, feeling along the lines of the pack he had made.  They were all happy, content, and Derek had never felt more proud as an Alpha. 

 

So of course, that’s when everything went to shambles.  

 

Not supernaturally, everything was fine on that front.  The trolls they had dealt with at the beginning of the year had been shipped off to Canada with the help of Chris Argent.  The creatures would have more space to roam free up there, and Derek had made sure they were placed far away from any packs. Nothing had come up since the trolls left.  

 

No, it was the personal lives of all his teenage packmates that Derek was finding disturbing. 

 

As soon as winter break hit the high schoolers, they all started talking about the colleges and universities they had applied to.  Lydia had already been accepted to all Ivy League campuses across the country.  Scott had applied to all schools that had vet programs across the country.  Allison had applied to schools in the East Coast, and even a few in Europe.  Jackson had  _ only _ applied to schools in Europe.  

 

The only packmates Derek was not anxious around these days were Stiles, Boyd, Erica and Isaac.  Stiles and Boyd had only applied to schools in California. Isaac and Erica both decided to find jobs instead of going to school.  

 

Everything was changing, and Derek hated it.    

 

\--

Derek was hiding in his loft after a holiday themed pack meeting.  The teens had spent the evening either talking about family Christmas dinners or college applications.  Both topics Derek generally avoided for obvious reasons. Derek had spent the evening avoiding all such conversations… which meant he mostly spent it sitting by himself in the kitchen sulking.  

 

He wasn’t surprised when they all left to go skating at the rink Boyd worked at.  It was a Christmas themed pack night after all.  He was surprised when he found Stiles sitting on the couch playing on his phone when he wandered back into the living room though.  

 

“Hey,” Derek said, walking into the room with his mug. “I didn’t know anyone was still here. I was making myself some tea, did you want some?” 

 

Stiles didn’t look up, so Derek nudged his shoulder on his way to one of the chairs.  Stiles immediately looked up with a smile, making Derek wonder how he had ever thought that Stiles didn’t like him. Ever since Derek had figured out the whole hard of hearing thing, their friendship had grown surprisingly fast.  It had only been two months of building the bond up, but Derek could already feel it thrumming alongside the rest of them, they were all stronger than ever. 

 

“What’s up, wolfie?”  

 

Derek shoots him a glare, though it has no heat behind it. “Why aren’t you out with the rest of the hooligans?”  Derek asked, setting his mug down on the coffee table.  

 

Stiles shrugged, “I’m not really into the whole Christmas thing.”  

 

Derek raised a brow, that was surprising. “Strange, I pictured you wearing santa hats and putting up obnoxious decorations.”

 

“Nope,” Stiles said, popping the p at the end, and shoving his phone into his pocket.  “No Christmas anything at the Stilinski household.”  

 

“Then what are you doing for Christmas?” 

 

Stiles shot him an amused look, “being Jewish?” 

 

“Oh! Oh. Sorry...Tea?”  Derek stammered, quickly making his way back to the kitchen.  He felt foolish, not knowing yet another thing about Stiles.  

 

“Yeah sure,” even with his back turned, he could hear the smirk in Stiles’ voice.  “You know, Derek, I’m starting to think you really don’t know anything about me. I’m hurt, man.”  

 

Derek glanced back at him to see Stiles dramatically clutching his chest.  Derek shook his head in fond exasperation.  When Derek walked back with Stiles tea a minute later, Stiles was smiling up at him from the couch. 

 

“No actual hard feelings, dude, I don’t know much about you either.”  

 

Derek didn’t respond.  He set down Stiles tea before picking up his own and settling down on the more comfortable of the two chairs.  His furniture was shit, but that’s what you get when you let teenagers decorate your house via craigslist.  Finally he turned back to Stiles, who was watching him over his own mug of tea.  

 

“So what should we do about this?” 

 

“Do about what?” Derek asked. 

 

Stiles rolled his eyes, “about our predicament! You clearly don’t like it when you don’t know things about me.  And I’ve been trying to dig up dirt on you since you got here, with very little luck.” 

 

“What?” Derek growled. Stiles ignored him. 

 

“I think we should play a game!” Stiles proclaimed, waving his hands out in excitement. 

 

Derek sighed. This was probably better than sitting alone reading and drinking tea, which is what he thought his evening was going to be like.  “What game?”  

 

“I don’t know, 20 questions isn’t like.. Personal questions.  Question for a question? That’s not actually a game, I guess. But like, one of us could ask the other a question, and then if they answer you get to ask a question. And we switch til we’re bored.”  

 

Derek fidgeted in his seat, this was sounding like it could get really personal, “what if I don’t want to answer a question?” 

 

Stiles thought about that, sipping his tea.  “Well I guess you don’t have to answer, this isn’t an interrogation.  I could ask questions until I get to one you want to answer?”  

 

Derek thought about that, searching Stiles face.  The kid looked sincere.. And Derek did want to know more about Stiles.  “Okay.”  

 

“Alright!” Stiles did a little fist bump in the air, “who should go first?” 

 

Derek shrugged, “you go, it was your idea.”  

 

Stiles nodded, before leaning back against the couch cushion in thought.  Derek fought back a smile at Stiles serious expression.  At least the boy was taking it seriously.  

 

“How many people have you had sex with?”  Stiles asked.  Okay, maybe not as seriously as Derek thought.

 

Derek thought about it for a second, “eight.”  

 

Stiles eyes widened, “and were they-”  

 

“No. My turn.”  Derek said with a grin.  Stiles frowned, but then waved a hand in a ‘go on’ gesture.  Now that it was his turn though he wasn’t sure what to do.  Stiles hadn’t started serious, maybe he shouldn’t either? What did he want to know that wasn’t serious? He thought about that, and settled on something he had been wondering about that might affect the pack dynamics.  

 

“Do you still have a crush on Lydia?” 

 

“No,” Stiles answered, so quickly that Derek would have thought he was lying if he couldn’t hear his heartbeat. “Were all the people you slept with women?”  

 

Derek leaned back, surprised by the question, “no. Three were men.”  

 

Stiles nodded, satisfied with the answer for some reason.  Derek decided to play off that for his own question. 

 

“Why? Are you questioning your own sexuality?”   

 

Stiles laughed, throwing his head back against the cushions, “technically that’s two questions. But no, well, kinda? It’s not like I’ve ever done anything with anyone.. Not really. I’ve just recently discovered that bisexuality is even a thing, and I’m pretty sure that’s how I’ve always felt anyway.” Stiles nodded to himself, sipping his tea.  

 

Derek nodded as well, accepting this new information easily.  It wasn’t actually surprising information, if he thought about it at all. He finished the dregs of his own tea and put his mug down on the table while he waited for Stiles, who seemed to be seriously thinking about his next question. 

 

“Do you hate Scott and me for digging up your sisters dead body?”  Stiles finally asked. 

 

Derek froze, still leaning towards the coffee table.  He was glad the mug was out of his hand, because he probably would have dropped it.  Slowly he sat back into the chair, his eyes focusing on Stiles face.  The boy looked guilty, and the air now had a tint of sorrow in it. It took Derek a moment before he was able to reply. 

 

“No. It was a hard time for everyone, I don’t blame you for trying to figure out what was happening..” Derek sighed, running a hand over his head, “it was hard though. It had been bad enough having to bury her the first time.”  

 

“I’m sorry.”  Stiles said, his face look pained.  

 

Derek nodded, “I know. It’s okay.”  

 

They sat in silence for a minute, each in their own thoughts.  Then Derek decided to ask real questions, since apparently they were doing that now.  

 

“Have you always been deaf in your left ear?”  

 

Stiles didn’t look surprised by the question, instead he sighed dramatically, “man, if these ears could talk.. actually that would be weird.  People are always asking me about my hearing, though. It’s really not that interesting.”  

 

Derek raised his brows, “is that a pass?”  

 

“No, no,” Stiles waved his hands, “I’m answering.”  He sighed, rearranging himself on the couch until he got comfortable. “My dad’s side of the family has hearing issues, and I was a few week premature, so my parents weren’t surprised when I was born with underdeveloped ears.  It meant that I would only ever have partial hearing in both ears.  Luckily my dad already knew ASL, cause of my Nana, so he taught my mom and they both taught me.  And I picked up the lip reading and body language thing on my own,” Stiles added with a shrug, like that was no big deal.  “I used to wear hearing aids in elementary school, but I hated them.  They made my ears itchy, and all the kids thought I was weird.  I was fine with how much I could hear without them. It was good… Until, when I was seven..”  

 

Stiles trailed off, before leaning forward and putting his mug down.  He leaned back with a deep breath. 

 

Derek frowned in concern, “we don’t have to talk about this.”  

 

Stiles flashed him a small smile, “it’s okay.  It’s just still hard to talk about.  Um, so when I was seven, my mom was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia.  It’s uh, not a pretty way to die.  It involves a lot of hallucination, and confusion, and doctors… and time.” Stiles looked down, started to fiddle with a loose string in the couch.  Derek made a noise he hoped conveyed his sympathy, he had never known what had taken Stiles mother away so young.

 

“When I was eight, and my mom was spending most of her time in the hospital, I was spending most of my time… kind of just around.  My dad was either working or with my mom.  I spent a lot of time hanging around the station, or at Scotty’s, or sitting beside my moms hospital bed.  Anyway, point is, it was a shitty situation, and it wasn’t anyone’s fault, but I got sick and no one really noticed?”  Stiles sighs again, fidgeting with the seam.

 

“I mean, my dad gave me kids tylenol to help me sleep, and the nurses all motherhenned me for a day or so, but I wasn’t really the important patient at the time, you know?  It was only when my dad came in one morning to wake me up for school and found me with a raging fever that people started to worry. He called Melissa, and she told him to put me in an ice bath, and I didn’t know what the big deal was because I had had a fever for days and no one had seemed to care, so I thought it was fine.  Not that I even remember the whole ice bath thing… anyway, yeah, after I got better we realized I had completely lost my hearing in my left ear.” Stiles shrugged again. He was looking anywhere but at Derek.  

 

Derek felt horrible for asking the question now. In hindsight, he wasn’t sure what he had been expecting. People don't really lose their hearing in a happy way, do they? It’s generally a traumatic experience. He rubbed a hand over his face, feeling frustrated with himself. And Stiles had lost his hearing and his mother at around the same time. It was a wonder the kid wasn’t as bitter as Derek.  

 

They sat in silence for a few more moments before Derek realized he was going to have to be the one to break it.  

 

“I’m sorry,” he said, hopefully loud enough for Stiles to hear, since the kid was still looking down.

 

Stiles shrugged again.  

 

“It’s your turn, if you still want to play..” 

 

Stiles nodded, he looked to the side and scrubbed a hand over his face, but by the time he turned back to Derek he looked fine. Composed, like he always did. Derek wondered how much he was hiding behind that mask. A mask he hadn’t even been aware of until now.  He wondered if he would be able to see Stiles without the mask again.. he wondered why he wanted to. 

 

“Why New York?” Stiles asked, pulling him from his thoughts. 

 

Derek blinked. “It was the farthest away we could get without leaving the country, which we weren’t allowed to do when the fire was still under investigation.  Laura always wanted to be a singer, or something. She actually got a few gigs. I went to NYU.”  

 

Stiles looked pleased by that, “what did you take at NYU?” 

 

That was two questions, but Derek let it slide, “mostly mythology and history. I had plans to study abroad in Europe for a while.. before..” 

 

Stiles nodded, “I thought about going away, but I can’t picture myself anywhere else.  I couldn’t stand being far away from my dad either. Or, you know, you guys.”  

 

Derek shot him a small smile.  Stiles had just given him the answer to his next question for free, and Derek felt a warmth spread through him.  He wanted to find out more about Stiles this way, not through some game.  

 

They spent the rest of the night talking, and eventually laughing.  Somehow they both ended up on the couch, watching reruns of  _ That 70s Show _ .  Stiles apparently thought Hyde was the stoner version of Derek.  Derek strongly disagreed.  

 

If both of them woke up the next morning slumped against each other in a semi-cuddle, neither of them said anything about it. 

 

—

 

On Christmas day, Stiles showed up at Derek’s loft with a bag of Chinese take out and an armful of DVD’s.  

 

“Jewish holiday tradition, and my dad always takes the Christmas shift so people can spend it with their families,”  Stiles said as he dumped his arm loads onto Derek’s coffee table. 

 

They didn’t mention the holiday for the rest of the day. Derek appreciated it. 

 

It was the best Christmas he could remember having since the fire. 

 

\-- 

 

Miraculously, the pack makes it through the rest of the year without any new supernatural incident.  Unless you count the fight between Allison and Scott, which Derek didn’t.  The two had fought about their future together as a couple, having both realized at the same time that they were going to schools on opposite sides of the country.  The fight had lasted days, and had put the entire pack on edge. They hadn’t broken up though, according to Stiles.  Derek didn’t really pay that much attention.  

 

Surprisingly, at the end of the school year Derek was included in a lot of their graduation celebrations.  He even watched the ceremony from the tree line.  He told himself it was because Isaac needed a familiar face as he walked across the stage, but he knew deep down that he was there for all of them. 

 

Now the summer was passing with no sign of trouble… Derek was actually getting antsy. He had kind of hoped for one last blast before the pack all moved away.  Which was stupid, because he didn’t want any of them in danger, it just seemed like the time they all mostly felt like a pack was when they were.. well, in danger.  

 

This was probably the reason that Derek had all but jumped on the chance that something was happening when the towns electrical grid started having issues.  Lydia and Stiles had both looked at him like he was crazy, but dutifully started researching myths pertaining to electricity.  Derek had the rest of the pack searching the town’s grid, checking every electrical hub for signs of anything strange.  

 

Nothing was coming up.  And after a week of this, his betas were starting to get annoyed. 

 

“Come on, Derek, why can’t we just have a party and get smashed?” Erica whines, sprawling on the couch beside Stiles.  Stiles glanced at her before returning to his book about monstrous electric eels. 

 

“We had a party last week.” Derek snapped at her, “I even bought you booze,  _ and _ let you use my loft.” 

 

“You got us 5 cases of beer and then kicked us all out at 11.” Erica retorted, rolling her eyes,  “It wasn’t even laced with wolfsbane! We were all sober and home by midnight! That’s not a party.”  

 

Derek grumbled, but had no reply for that. “Did you see anything tonight? Catch a sent of what this thing is?” 

 

“No, nothing out of the ordinary” Boyd replied for them both, leaning against one of the windows, “I’m pretty sure if this is anything, it’s just a human messing around.”  

 

Derek sighed, taking a seat on the coffee table and kicking Stiles foot to get his attention.  Stiles glanced up at him with an annoyed huff. 

 

“I’m not going to find anything if you keep distracting me.” 

 

“So you haven’t found anything?” 

 

“No.” Stiles said, shutting the book and throwing it down beside Derek, “and I’m pretty sure it’s not an electric eel.  We aren’t even close to any bodies of water.  There isn’t much info out there on the supernatural that affects electricity.  Electricity is relatively new compared to the majority of the myths we’re reading.”  

 

Derek nodded.  The three all looked at him expectantly, so he sighed and waved a hand.  “Fine, you can all go home.  Clearly this is nothing.”  

 

Boyd and Erica immediately stood up and left, calling out goodbyes as they made their way down the stairs.  Derek was only mildly offended that they hadn’t even pretended to want to stay to hang out.  

 

When he looked back at Stiles, he found the boy watching him with what looked like concern.  

 

“What?” Derek asked, schooling his features into a blank expression.  

 

“I know it’s hard, with half the pack moving away..” Stiles started.  

 

Derek looked away, starting to stand before Stiles hand shot out to grab his knee.  Derek looked back with a frown. 

 

“Derek, I’m serious. You’re not the only one feeling like you’re losing something.” 

 

Derek glanced between the hand on his knee and Stiles face.  He didn’t say anything.  

 

“I know your fixating on this because you think the packs not going to think of themselves as pack anymore after the summer, but you’re wrong.  It wasn’t the threats that made us a pack in the first place, it was us coming together to fight. It was you putting in the effort to get us to spend time together when there were no monsters in sight. We’re not going to forget about that in a few peaceful months.” 

 

Derek wanted to scowl and call Stiles an idiot, but the kid was looking at him with such an earnest expression.. Derek rubbed a hand through his hair, letting his shoulders sag.  Some of the tension he had been holding onto bled out of him with Stiles words.  

 

“They’re not all going to move back, after college.  Beacon Hills won’t be their home anymore.” Derek said, glancing over at Stiles and hoping he hasn’t read this wrong. Hoping Stiles isn’t going to laugh at him. 

 

Stiles smiled at him, his eyes gentle, “does that make us less of a pack? Scott’s still my brother, even if he’s living in Arizona next year. They’re all still going to come and visit.  They will be here when we need them.  Or do you only like us because we’re all conveniently close?” Stiles teased.  

 

Derek snorts, “no of course not.” 

 

He smiled at Stiles, and Stiles smiled back.  They both realized Stiles still had his hand on Derek’s leg at the same time.  Stiles pulled back with a blush, leaning into the couch.  Derek cleared his throat, turning away to hide his own reaction. 

 

“I still think this is something.  Even if it is a human messing around.”  

 

“Okay, then we’ll keep looking.” Stiles said with a serious nod.  

 

Derek would not have been able to stop the warmth from blooming in his chest if he had wanted to. 

 

—

 

Two nights later, half the town lost power for no apparent reason.  The Sheriff and his deputies were out patrolling now, thinking that someone was purposely sabotaging the cities power. They were also making sure the town stayed in order during the blackout. 

 

Derek sent his betas out to search as well, although with instructions to stay out of the way of the police.  He only wanted them to interfere if this did turn out to have a supernatural cause.  

 

Lydia stayed at home to search through a few more sources she had found. Stiles insisted on joining the search, since he had no new leads and the power was out both at his house and the loft anyway.  Derek reluctantly agreed he could come along, but he insisted the human came with him.  He even let Stiles drive them in his beat up jeep. 

 

He knew Stiles was capable looking after himself, he just felt better knowing the human was safe with him.  That was it. Especially now that he knew Stiles was hearing impaired.  He needed a wolf's senses to balance them out.  And his beta’s senses weren’t as good as his, so Stiles was really best off with him. Scott and the others had already paired off and left anyway, so he didn’t know why he kept making these excuses... 

 

Derek jerked himself out of his thoughts as Stiles parked beside the town’s main power station.  Derek jumped out, sniffing the air for anything unusual.  He got nothing more than a few humans, metal and dirt.  He could hear a few people up in the office working at trying to fix the problem. They hadn’t noticed Stiles’ jeep pulling up.  

 

He glanced over at Stiles as the boy rounded the car towards him.  “Why this place?” He asked. 

 

“My latest theory is that something is using the power supply as food. So where would the best place be to feed off of? The main power station!” Stiles proclaimed, lifting his arms towards the building.  

 

Derek stared at him, unimpressed, “isn’t that from a Spider-Man movie?” 

 

Stiles beamed at him, “I am very proud of you for knowing that. And yes it is.  But what are comic books if not today’s modern mythology?”  

 

Derek glared at him as he moved to enter the building, picking the lock with ease and sliding in.  Derek rolled his eyes and followed. Might as well make sure nothing was here.  

 

The building was cement, with thick wires covering the walls and ceiling.  There were gated areas full of power boxes and signs everywhere warning people not to touch. Derek made sure to keep a close eye on Stiles, the teen probably ignored signs as much as locks. 

 

Their footsteps echoed as they walked through the halls.  Derek was pretty sure he could also hear the squeak of rats close by.  The main lights were off, and the generator lights hummed dimly above them.  Derek didn’t mind, but Stiles pulled out a flashlight, looking into every corner and nook they walked past.  

 

They made it to the center of the building before Derek stopped. “There’s nothing here.” 

 

Stiles kept walking. 

 

“Stiles,” Derek said louder, “there’s nothing here, we should go.”  His voice echoing off the walls.  Stiles stopped walking, looking around in confusion. He started to turn around when suddenly all the lights went out, including Stiles flashlight. 

 

Derek blinked, trying to get his eyes to adjust to complete darkness.  He heard Stiles heart jack up to an alarming rate. 

 

“Stiles? What’s wrong?” 

 

Stiles didn’t respond. If anything, his heart started to beat even more erratically.  He heard shuffling, something clattering to the ground, and the squeaks of the rats.  Then Stiles shouted in alarm. 

 

“Stiles!” 

 

Derek shifted, scanning the room with his alpha red eyes, running toward where he could hear the kid’s heart pounding.  

 

Stiles was huddled beside a gate, his arms wrapped around his chest. There were two rats sitting close by, sniffing his shoes.  Derek swatted then away, crouching down beside the scared teen.  

 

“Stiles, what-?” 

 

Stiles jumped when Derek touched him.  Derek immediate brought his hand back. 

 

“I can’t, who’s there? I can’t-“  Stiles’ panted.  Derek was worried he would start to hyperventilate if Derek didn’t get him to calm down.

 

“It’s me, Stiles it’s me, Derek. It’s okay. Calm down. It’s  _ Derek _ .” Derek said. He wanted to reach out again, but Stiles looked like a ball of nerves.  

 

“Derek. Derek?” Stiles reaches out on his own, and Derek grabs his flailing hands.  Leaning forward so he had most of his body pressed up beside Stiles. Stiles untangles one of his hands to pat at Derek’s face.  He leans into Derek’s arms with a sigh after he feels along Derek’s jawline.  “Okay. Okay, it’s you. Thank god for your scruffy face.” 

 

Derek holds onto Stiles as he calms his breathing. He doesn’t talk until Stiles heart rate is semi back to normal. 

 

“Are you alright?” 

 

Stiles hand is still on his face, he rubs Derek’s beard for a second before withdrawing it. “I’m okay. Sorry for freaking out.” 

 

“What happened?” 

 

Stiles swiveled his head around, before giving up on whatever he was trying to do and shaking his head. “Could you get me out of here please?” 

 

“Yes.” Derek agreed immediately. He hauled Stiles to his feet, and then practically dragged the guy to the exit, grabbing Stiles phone for him on the way.  Stiles didn’t seem to mind. He was leaning on Derek heavily the whole time.  

 

Once they were outside, they both breathed a sigh of relief. They silently made their way to the jeep. Stiles passed Derek the keys and slid into the passenger side without a word.  Derek moved to start the car, but the engine wouldn’t turn over. 

 

“Well that answers that question.” Stiles said, looking at his car forlornly. 

 

“What?”

 

“Only one thing I’ve read about has the power to pull energy from all objects. The town’s grid, the generator, the flashlight, our phones, my  _ car _ . It’s probably a kitsune.” 

 

Derek thought about for a second, “the Japanese fox?” 

 

“Yeah, they’re mostly human and don’t want to harm other humans. Maybe this one's young or something. That’s probably why you guys haven’t been able to smell anything.”  

 

Derek nodded, “I’ve heard of them. I didn’t know they could do this.” 

 

“Not all can. There’s different types, this is a thunder kitsune.” Stiles said with a shrug. “Guess we’re stuck here for a while. Unless we want to walk back.”  

 

Derek thought about it before shaking his head. “Let’s sit here for a minute. You need to rest.” 

 

Stiles nodded, looking away in what Derek thought was embarrassment.  “It’s okay, you know, that you panicked. A lot of people dislike the dark.” 

 

Stiles laugh sounded self deprecating. “Most people can rely on other senses in the dark. I go full Helen Keller.” 

 

Derek frowned, “is that what happened in there?” 

 

“Yeah,” Stiles finally turned to him, his eyes were sad, “I was having trouble hearing because of the echo in the first place.  And then it was just nothing. I really started freaking out when something touched me… I hate it, how easy it is to turn me into a ball of useless panic.” 

 

“You’re not useless.” Derek said fiercely. 

 

Stiles shrugged, looking out the window. “Thanks for getting me out of there. What was touching me, by the way? Did you see it?” 

 

“A rat.” 

 

Stiles jerked in a full body shiver, sticking his tongue out at the end, “ew!” 

 

Derek laughed at him, “it barely touched you.” 

 

“Easy for you to say! It wasn’t sniffing you out for dinner.” 

 

Derek rolled his eyes, “it wasn’t going to eat you.” 

 

“Yeah, cause big bad wolf came and saved me.” Stiles grinned, swatting Derek’s arm playfully. 

 

“I would hardly call it saving. I just helped. That’s what we do, we help each other.” 

 

Stiles gave him a thoughtful look, but didn’t say anything. They fell into a silence. It was comfortable, but Derek liked it when Stiles was talking. Which was strange, because he used to only think of ways to get the kid to shut up.. He would think about that later though. When he was alone. 

 

“You know, she was a pretty cool woman.” 

 

Stiles turned to him, confused, “sorry, what? Who?” 

 

“Helen Keller, she was pretty cool.  She raised a lot of awareness for blind and deaf people.”  

 

Stiles laughed, “yeah? You know a lot about her, do you?” 

 

“You and Lydia aren’t the only ones who know how to research, you know,” Derek grumbled.

 

Stiles laughed even harder, “why were you researching Helen Keller?”

 

Derek rolled his eyes, “I found out a member of my pack is partially deaf.  I was researching anything related to deaf and hard of hearing people.” 

 

Stiles looked surprised, he opened his mouth but before he said anything else the jeep jerked and all the lights in the building beside them flickered on.  Both Derek and Stiles winced at the sudden brightness. 

 

Both of them phones immediately started buzzing.  Derek turned the car on as Stiles started to read through the texts. 

 

“Scotty found her! She is a kitsune. She’s here with her parents to learn to control her powers.. oh yeah, I guess it makes sense to take half of Beacon Hills out instead of half of New York City. She’s doing her last year of high school here next year, poor gal..” 

 

Stiles kept talking as Derek drove them home. He was proud of his pack for being able to solve the problem mostly on their own. He needed to make plans to meet these new foxes in his neighborhood. 

 

He glanced over at Stiles, finding the boy smirking down at his phone. His face was so full of joy, Derek's heart skipped a beat.  

 

—

 

Derek met Kira the next day.  She was young, socially awkward, but kind.  She had obviously not intended to cause the power outage, and looked quiet embarrassed by the whole thing.  Derek offered a truce with her and her parents.  They agreed, and Derek found himself with his first official pack allies.  

 

His wolf preened.  

 

The summer months went by quickly, Kira was incorporated into many of the pack activities. Not that there were many.. everyone in the pack was getting ready for the next year. Even Isaac and Erica had found jobs already. 

 

Stiles, as was becoming the usual, hung around the loft the most. Derek often found him reading on the couch, or cooking dinner in the kitchen.  Derek wasn’t sure why, but they never talked about their increasing amount of time together.  Maybe they were afraid to bring it up, because they both knew Stiles was moving away soon, at the end of August. And then there would be no more easy hang outs.  

 

Stiles was going to UC Davis though, which was only about two hours away.. so maybe there could be.. 

 

No. No use getting his hopes up, he would just have to see what happens.  Maybe Stiles would want to come home every weekend, maybe not. Derek’s not going to push his own agenda on the kid. Stiles deserved a chance at normal, just as much as the rest of the pack.  

 

His heart aches whenever he thinks about the pack these days.  They’re all leaving soon.  Allison’s flight to New York is the day after tomorrow. Derek never thought he would be so sad to see an Argent leave Beacon Hills, but here he is.. 

 

Stiles has been trying to distract him for the past few days. Today he dragged Derek to an arcade.  Derek appreciates the thought, but even his old friend pac man can’t distract him for long. 

 

Stiles is persistent though. He keeps dragging Derek to the next game, blabbering non stop about anything and everything.  Despite his heartache, Derek can’t help smile at the younger man. Stiles always smiles back. 

 

Finally, after about three hours in the arcade, Stiles suggests that they make their way back to the loft.  He says it like Derek hasn’t been trying to leave for the past hour.  He snorts, but agrees. 

 

As he pulls the Camaro into the lot in front of the loft, he side eyes Stiles suspiciously.  He can feel the pack bonds thrumming under his skin.  He can smell a number of his packmates close by. 

 

Something is definitely happening. 

 

Stiles just gives him an innocent grin, pulling Derek towards the building.  

 

As Stiles opens the door to his loft, Derek freezes in realization-

 

“Surprise!” His whole pack shouts in unison. 

 

“What.” Derek says dumbly, looking around the apartment.  Decorations, banners and balloons fill the room.  Food and drinks are piled on the tables and countertops.  There’s even a keg in the corner.  He catches a whiff of wolfsbane and knows it won’t just be the humans drinking tonight. 

 

“It’s a surprise going away party!” Allison, Lydia and Erica all announce at the same time.  Erica even does a little twirl… Derek suspects she’s a few drinks in already. 

 

“Then why is it a surprise for me? I’m not going anywhere,” Derek looks at them all, frowning in confusion. 

 

Lydia shrugged, “Stiles suggested since so many of us are going away, we should have a party for those who are staying.”  

 

Derek looks over at Stiles, dumbfounded.  This is why he was trapped at that arcade all afternoon. 

 

Stiles smirks at him, “you didn’t think I’d let them all leave without saying goodbye to you first, did you?”  

 

Derek doesn’t know what to say, he opens his mouth but nothing comes out.  

 

Stiles grins widder.  “Happy staying at home party, Derek,”  he leans over and kisses Derek’s cheek, flushing a bright pink as he turns and walks towards the kitchen.  

 

Derek stares after him in shock, before Jackson and Boyd are pulling him into a game of beer pong.  

\-- 

 

Derek likes to think he often has fun.  He does things he enjoys.  He has friends.. But really, this party is the most fun he has had in a really long time.  

 

After he and Boyd beat Jackson and Lydia at beer pong, it had turned into a full on championship.  They each paired off and spent quite a few rounds throwing the pingpong around.  The ending match had been Scott and Stiles against Erica and Allison.  It was no surprise that Allison and Erica won, given Allison’s hand eye skills, and Erica’s passion to beat the boys.  It was surprising that Scott and Stiles had made it into the finals though.  The two proclaimed that their skills came from hours playing video games together. 

 

Derek couldn’t help but laugh at the two idiots as they chugged their beers in unison before shaking hands with the two girls somberly.   

 

After that the night was a bit of a blur.  All he knows for sure is that they all ended up sprawled in the living room, pillows and blankets thrown over the floor with lumps of cuddle piles on top.  

 

Derek woke up the next morning with a pounding headache, packmates snuggled up on either side of him, and the smell of coffee already wafting out of the kitchen. 

 

This was the happiest he has felt in a long time.  

 

He walked into the kitchen to find Stiles there, brewing coffee and setting up multiple mugs on the counter.  He also had a pile of toast already set on the table, and eggs sitting next to the frying pan, ready to be cooked. 

 

“Hey,” Derek greeted softly.  When Stiles didn’t reply, he came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.  

 

Stiles jumped, but Derek caught the mug as it slipped out of his hand.  He placed it back on the counter as Stiles looked at him sheepishly. 

 

“Sorry, I didn’t know anyone else was up yet.”  

 

Derek didn’t say anything, instead he pulled Stiles into a hug before he could talk himself out of.  Stiles tensed at first, before melting into Derek’s arms.  Derek pulled back after a minute, giving Stiles a serious but affectionate look. 

 

“Thank you for last night.”

 

Stiles nodded. He was blushing again.  

 

Derek wanted to pull Stiles in again. He wanted to kiss the blush away, feel the soft lips against his own. 

 

Instead he took a giant step back, because where the hell had that thought come from?  

 

Stiles didn’t notice, he was back to pouring coffee out for everyone.  Derek watched him for a moment before turning to make the eggs.  Jesus, he needed to get a grip.  Stiles was just a kid, Derek couldn’t… 

 

Well, actually.  Stiles had just turned 18.  He was out of high school. And if the constant blushing was a sign of anything, maybe Stiles wanted..? 

 

Derek glanced over at the mole spotted man, smiling fondly as he watched Stiles measure out sugar into each of the mugs.  When Stiles had memorized the entire packs coffee preferences, he had no clue.  He was focused, and didn’t even look up at Derek as he continued to stare. 

 

Maybe Stiles did want… but Derek shook his head.  Stiles was moving away in less than a week. Derek didn’t want to be the reason he was dragged back to Beacon Hills. Not when Stiles finally had a chance to leave the place. 

 

He sighed, cracking an egg into the pan. 

 

The rest of the pack stumbled in, taking coffee, toast and eggs with them back to the living room.  Derek was pleased to see that when they thanked Stiles for the coffee, some of them even used sign language.  After he had learned about Stiles impairment, Derek had forced them all to watch online tutorials, and forced Scott to help with the more difficult signs.  Not that it had been difficult, Scott was more than happy to learn that more people wanted to learn sign. 

 

It warmed his heart to see his packmates caring for each other. 

 

Stiles didn’t seem to notice though, and Derek had to hold back a laugh.  He wondered if it was because Stiles was so used to signing at home with his dad and Scott, or if he was just too hung over now to care? 

 

He followed them out into the living room, where they all piled together to eat breakfast and watch cartoons off Netflix.  

 

The pack stayed for the whole morning, and most of the afternoon.  When they did start to leave, there were a few teary goodbyes.  Everyone hugged everyone, and Derek was having a hard time controlling his emotions with every new person that walked out his door. 

 

Stiles, unsurprisingly, was the last to leave.  He kissed Derek’s cheek again, before giving him one last smile and closing the door behind him.  Derek watched him go, his hand coming up to trace the spot Stiles lips had just touched.  His heart gave a flutter, and Derek had to force himself to walk away from the door.  

 

That night when he went to bed, he curled up with all the blankets the pack had used the night before.  He fell asleep with the smell of pack surrounding him. 

 

\-- 

 

The first time Stiles came home was the second weekend after Stiles had moved away.  Stiles came barging into the loft like he always does, already mid-sentence in what sounded like the beginning of a very long rant. 

 

Derek wondered how long he had been talking to himself before this.

 

“How difficult is it to turn to someone when you’re talking to them?  Is it that hard? Is it fucking rocket science? No! It’s easy! Just turn your fucking head a few degrees, and I’ll be able to see what you’re saying! But noooo, that’s too hard for like, 90% of my dorm to figure out. Which means I miss about 90% of what’s going on, like, say, the party they all went to tonight. Leaving me alone in an entire dorm!” 

 

Derek stayed on his spot on the couch, watching as Stiles yelled and paced across his floor. 

 

“You were the only one left in your whole dorm?” he asked, brow furrowed in concern. 

 

Stiles doesn’t look at him, so he probably didn’t hear.  Or he ignored him in favour of continuing his rant. 

 

“And don’t even get me started on the professors. Have any of them heard of a microphone? Or writing something on a board, or powerpoint? How am I supposed to follow along when I can’t read lips and write at the same time! Which I can do, by the way, cause I’m awesome, but I can’t do it for three hours. I tried, and at some point my finger slipped and it was all random letters from there.” 

 

Now Derek was really concerned.  Were the teachers at Davis discriminating against Stiles because of his disability? He stood up when Stiles starting to change the subject to the cafeteria food, he needed to know more about these professors. 

 

He stepped in front of the boy while Stiles was mid-pace, placing his hands on his shoulders so he didn’t tip over. 

 

“What about these professors? Are they being unfair to you? Are you being discriminated against?” Derek asked.  Or he tried to ask, it actually came out more like a growl.. Huh, he hadn’t known he was so angry about this. 

 

Stiles blinked at him, before shaking his head and grabbing onto Derek’s shoulders, “calm down, sourwolf, this isn’t some civil rights issue.” 

 

Derek felt his eyes flash, “it is if they are purposefully doing something against you just because of your hearing. That’s discrimination. There are many people with disabilities who go to university, they can all be successful with just a few adaptations!” 

 

Stiles raised an eyebrow at him, “adaptations? Have you been researching again?” 

 

Derek released Stiles shoulders, but he can’t step back without pushing Stiles hands off of him too. He was not willing to do that. 

 

“That’s not the point Stiles, you should be given a hard copy of their notes.  Or be allowed to record the lectures.” 

 

“I-” Stiles huffed, letting go and stepping away so he could fall onto the couch. “I hadn’t wanted to be.. Different.  In high school I was always known as ‘that kid who can’t hear’. They all thought it was unfair that I didn’t have to take notes and stuff..” 

 

Derek sat down beside him, “you wanted a fresh start, where no one knew you?” 

 

Stiles glanced over at him, “is that stupid?” 

 

Derek shook his head, “of course not, that’s what we got in New York after all. It’s pretty great.” 

 

Stiles sighed, “but I can’t keep going to these classes and coming out with nothing. I’m going to fail, and we can’t afford that.  We can barely afford to send me to university in the first place.” 

 

Derek clapped him on the shoulder, “talk to your professors, maybe they can email you the notes? Then no one has to know.”  

 

Stiles nodded, still looking glum. 

 

Luckily, Derek had learned the best ways to lighten Stiles’ mood. 

 

“Want to go get curly fries?” 

 

Stiles looked over at him, before a giant grin split across his face, “you know it!” 

 

Derek grinned back, pushing Stiles until they were climbing into the Camarao. 

Stiles was in a good mood for the rest of the night. Derek decided to deal with the dorm mates problem later.  

 

\--

 

Stiles had come to back to the loft the weekend after that, and then again after that.. Now they were halfway through the first term and Stiles had only spent two weekends on campus.  

 

In many ways, it’s kind of like Stiles never left. Actually, Derek is talking to the whole pack way more than he thought he would be, not just Stiles. 

 

In hindsight, Derek does not know why he had been worried about his packmates moving away.  He is pretty sure he talks to some of them more now than he had when they actually lived here. 

His phone and computer are always buzzing with a text, or Whatsapp message, or Facebook message, or Skype, or hell, _Words_ _With_ _Friends_.  Derek doesn't know how to use many of these aps, Stiles was the one who downloaded them onto his phone in the first place. 

 

Sometimes he turns off his phone just to get some peace and quiet. Usually Isaac, Erica, or Boyd show up within the hour whenever he does that though, checking in on him and turning his phone back on. Traitors. 

 

Stiles only laughs when Derek complains about it. 

 

“I told you sourwolf, pack is pack, no matter how far. Don’t lie, you love it.” 

 

They were all annoying brats. Although Derek grudgingly agree that he did love it… he would never tell Stiles that though. 

 

But while he was talking to them all still... Actual day to day life in Beacon Hills without the pack was kind of boring.  Isaac worked mornings and afternoons at a local diner, every day but Tuesday.  Erica worked three days a week at a clothing store and three nights a week at one of the three bars in town.  Boyd drove for 45 minutes every week day into the next town to take community college classes.  They were all in early childhood education, he wanted to own his own preschool one day.  Apparently he had spent most of his time growing up looking after his younger siblings, and he had known early on what his career path would be.  Stiles, as mentioned before, lived two hours away most of the week. The rest even farther than that. 

 

Derek was proud and impressed with them all.  He was left with little to do though.  Only a few supernatural incidents had come up since the pack had moved away, and he had been able to handle them all on his own.. In a day.  

 

He was seriously considering getting a job.  A weekday job though, because he wanted his weekends to be free still.  The pack liked to visit on the weekends.  And he needed to make sure he had days to deal any supernatural thing that popped up… and.. Stiles was coming home pretty much every weekend.  Not that that would stop him if he had to go to work but… it was definitely becoming a factor. 

 

Derek’s still not sure when Stiles had become a factor. 

 

\--

 

“Waiter? I bet Isaac would put a good word in for you at that diner.” Stiles suggested, lounging on the couch beside Derek as they flipped through Netflix genres. 

 

“Same problem as with retail, I’m not a people person.” 

 

Stiles grunted, throwing popcorn in his mouth and crunching with a thoughtful look on his face. 

 

It was Saturday night, Stiles had shown up at the loft that afternoon like usual.  Derek had first given him space to work on his essays, but since he had hesitantly brought up the idea of him getting a job Stiles had dropped his school work to focus on him. 

 

“Cook? You could work in the back, only talk to the waiters?” 

 

Derek thought about that before nodding.  He sat up to write it down on their list of job ideas, beside security guard and SPCA worker.  Derek wasn’t actually sure he could get a job at the SPCA with no experience, but Stiles thought it would be funny if he worked with dogs.  Derek hasn’t found a reason to disagree with that one. 

 

“You could also just go out there, ask around to see what’s available.  Beggars don’t get choices or whatever they say.” Stiles said, ending with a shrug and a grunt.

 

Derek assumed all the grunting was because Stiles had all of his midterms last week, and the poor guy was exhausted. Looking at him now, he could still see bags under Stiles eyes. 

 

“You should sleep more,” Derek said. For the fifth time that night. 

 

Stiles just grunted again. 

 

“You’re starting to sound like me,” Derek joked. 

 

Stiles shrugged, “bound to happen eventually, we spend a lot of time together.” 

 

He didn’t even sound surprised. Or upset. Or have any reaction at all. 

 

“You spend a lot of time with Scott, and you don’t sound like him.”

 

Stiles raised an eyebrow at him, “dude.” 

 

Derek snorted, “touche.” 

 

They sat in silence for a minute.  Stiles finally chose one of the many crime shows, turning it on and then completely ignoring it to reopen his laptop and edit an essay.  Derek watched the episode, enjoying it more than he thought it would.  He wondered if Stiles put it on for him more than for himself.  

 

“Should we order in pizza?” Stiles asked, about halfway through the episode. 

 

“No, I got stuff for stir fry.  I’ll make it after this.” 

 

“Awesome, want help?” Stiles asked, glancing over at him. 

 

“No it’s okay. You finish your work so we can watch a movie or something after.” 

 

Stiles smiled and nodded, turning back to his writing. 

 

It was only after Derek had made them dinner, they ate the dinner at his kitchen counter, and they were halfway through watching the latest  _ X-Men _ movie, that Derek realized that this was becoming a thing. Like, a  _ thing _ . An extremely domestic, relationshipy,  _ thing _ .   

 

And by Stiles relaxed lounging on the sofa beside him, pressed up against Derek’s side like it was no big deal, Derek was suspecting that Stiles knew it. 

 

When the fuck had this happened? 

 

\-- 

 

Stiles crashed at his place that night, sleeping in Isaac’s old bed.. Like he had done every Saturday night since school started.  Derek had a mild freak out as soon as Stiles shut the bedroom door behind him. 

 

Because seriously, when had this happened? How had he not notice? 

 

That’s not true, he had noticed. He had thought about the two of them before… he had thought about Stiles wanting more. But Stiles was supposed to be experiencing life as a first year university student. He hasn’t been though. Why hadn’t he? Oh god, maybe he thought Derek wanted this. Maybe Derek was forcing Stiles to spend all his spare time with him and he hadn’t even noticed- 

 

The bedroom door opens again and Stiles comes sauntering out, this time only wearing soft looking pajama pants.  

 

“Hey Der,” Stiles says through a yawn, making his way towards the bathroom. He paused halfway there when Derek doesn’t do or say anything. “Um, you okay? You’re kind of just standing in the middle of the room.. not moving.” 

 

“I’m fine,” he says, but it sounds off to his own ears. “Tired.” 

 

Stiles raised an eyebrow, taking a few steps back towards him, “Okay, I might not be a werewolf but I’m pretty sure that’s a lie. What’s up, buttercup?” 

 

Derek frowns, “don’t call me buttercup.” 

 

Stiles rolls his eyes, “alrighty what’s up grumpy gills?” 

 

“Don’t call me- whatever. It’s nothing, go to bed.” 

 

“Ah, but there is something.” 

 

Derek closed his eyes. Stiles was infuriating, how was he entertaining the idea of a relationship with this annoying man? 

 

“Go to bed Stiles.” 

 

“No, tell me what’s wrong.” 

 

Derek sighs dramatically, before going to take a seat on the couch.  Stiles follows him. 

 

“Well?” 

 

Derek fixes his eyes in the couch, avoiding Stiles prying eyes, “are we dating?” 

 

Stiles leans forward, “sorry, what? I think I misheard that, did you just ask if we were dating?” 

 

Derek looks at him, glowering, “yes. Are we?” 

 

Stiles starts laughing, throwing his head back and clutching his stomach like this is hilarious. 

 

“Stiles, I’m serious!” 

 

Stiles glanced back at him. He isn’t sure if the younger man heard his words, but he definitely got the message because is expression sobered, his eyes growing concerned. 

 

“Dude, I think we would notice if we were dating.” 

 

Derek thinks about that before shaking his head. “But we practically are. You stay at my place at least once every week. We text everyday. We have a routine!” 

 

Stiles flailed his arms around, “but, dude, we don’t like do couple things.  We don’t.. Okay you cooked dinner for me. But we haven’t!.. oh wait, we cuddled in the couch tonight. Uh, we don’t kiss? And I’m pretty sure I would have at least noticed us having sex!” 

 

“Do you want to?” 

 

Stiles face went bright right, Derek realized he found it adorable. God, he was already deep in this wasn’t he?

 

“Want to..have sex?” Stiles asked, his voice an octave higher than normal. 

 

“With me.” 

 

Stiles face went impossibly redder. “Well like, yes, look at.” Stiles moved his hand, waving it around Derek’s whole body, “but I’m like,” Stiles turned the hand to wave at himself, “would you want to?!” 

 

Derek nodded, “yes.” 

 

Stiles licked his lips, “Okay. And then, what? Are we dating? Cause man, I totally would, I would date the shit out of you.. if you want that.” 

 

“I want,” Derek barely managed to say before he was moving, hands coming up to cup Stiles face, bring their lips together. 

 

Stiles moaned into it, pressing stronger, opening his mouth to kick at Derek’s lips. 

Derek opened his own, moving his tongue with Stiles’, growling at the taste of him.  He grabbed Stiles hips, pulling him into his lap. 

 

They both immediately started grinding, rubbing up against each other. Derek doesn’t know the last time he was this hard, and Stiles is definitely getting there as well. 

 

Stiles starts moving his hands, pulling Derek’s shirt off, moving off Derek’s mouth to lick his neck, hands roving over Derek’s chest. 

 

“Fuck, Stiles,” Derek murmurs, moving his own hands to their pants, unbuttoning his and pushing Stiles’ down. Once he has both of them clasped in one of his hands he begins to rock. 

 

“Derek,” Stiles moves back up, resting their foreheads against each other. His voice sounds wrecked. “Derek.” 

 

They both rock and grind. Stiles keeps moving his hands everywhere. Touching their cocks, his abs, Derek’s hair, Derek’s neck, their arms. 

 

It doesn’t take long until Stiles is spurting into Derek’s hand, slouching against Derek and kissing his neck afterwards. 

 

Derek moved his hand to focus on his own straining erection, using Stiles seed as lube. He buries his face is Stiles neck, inhaling Stiles sent and coming in a few quick strokes. 

 

They stay like that, panting and curled against each other. If Derek possessed an ability to think right now, he might be wondering why it had taken them so long to get to this point. 

 

—

 

Derek blinked his eyes open to find a head of hair in his face. He pulled back in confusion, looking around to find his bearings. 

 

Right. Stiles, the couch. They must have fallen asleep before they moved to Derek’s bed. 

 

Stiles’ face scrunched up as Derek tried to move away. “No,” Stiles whined. 

 

Derek laughed, pressing a kiss into his hair. Stiles blinked up at him with a sleepy smile. “Guess that wasn’t a dream then.” 

 

“Not a dream,” Derek confirmed, leaning down to give Stiles a soft kiss. “Coffee?” 

 

“Yes!” Stiles crowed. He jumped off the couch, “and I really need to pee. I was on my way there before all this happened!” 

 

Derek couldn’t stop smiling as he watched Stiles hurry to the bathroom. He didn’t stop as he got up and pulled on his jeans, not bothering with a shirt. Nor did he stop as he made the coffee, or pushed some bread into the toaster. 

 

He really only stopped when he heard a gasp behind him. He spun around and advanced, claws already out, before realizing it was only his own betas standing in his living room.  Erica looked ecstatic, clapping her hands together. Isaac looked a mix between disgust and amused. Boyd didn’t look like he cared. 

 

Derek made the sign to be quiet when Eric’s looked like she was going to start screaming. 

 

_ ‘Stiles is still in the bathroom, calm down.’ _

 

Isaac rolled his eyes before signing back,  _ ‘can he even hear us from in there? And what’s the big deal? We all know you’ve been together for a while, we just haven’t seen it.’  _

 

Derek glared,  _ ‘he’s not deaf, you idiot. And we just got together last night, I don’t want to scare him off.’ _

 

All three betas gave him sympathetic looks before they all startled by Stiles laugh. 

 

“There’s not much you can do to scare me off at this point, big guy.” 

 

Derek turned around, Stiles was already right behind him. Stiles smiled shyly, putting his arms around Derek’s waist. 

 

“You sure?” Derek asked, still feeling uncertain. Like he had forced Stiles into this. 

 

Stiles laughed, “I’m sure.” 

 

Derek smiled, putting his arms around Stiles and kissing him gently, softly. 

 

He heard the shutter of the iPhone camera app, a gagging noise and happy clapping. He could guess what noise belonged to who, but why Boyd was taking a picture of them he didn’t know. And he wasn’t about to pull away from Stiles to find out. 

 

“Lydia’s freaking out, she just won the pot. And Scott’s pissed we all found out before him.”

 

Stiles pulled away at that, “pot? What pot?” He peered around Derek to frown at the betas. “And since when did you all know sign?” 

 

Derek started laughing then, because it had taken months for Stiles to realize they all signed off and on. “I made them all take classes when I found out you were hard of hearing.” 

 

“What, really?” Stiles looked at them all, they all nodded at him. “Dude that was like a year ago, how have I not noticed?” 

 

Derek shrugged, “sometimes you miss what’s in front of your face.” Referring to when Derek had missed Stiles being hard of hearing, as well as the two of them not knowing they had feelings for each other. 

 

Stiles smirked, “I guess so. I can’t believe you made them all do that.” 

 

Derek looked at him in confusion, “you’re pack, we were happy to do it.” 

 

Stiles looked stunned for a minute, before a devilish grin split across his face. 

 

“Sorry puppys, your Alphas busy at the moment. Leave a message or come back after I’m done sucking his brains out through his cock.” 

 

“Ew Stiles,” Isaac muttered, but they all quickly made their way out of the apartment. 

 

Stiles was already starting to sink to his knees before Derek picked him up and slung him over his shoulder. 

 

“Bed.” He said, making his way up the stairs. 

 

“I’m not complaining.” Stiles laughed. 

 

Derek didn’t stop smiling all week. It scared the whole pack. 

Except for Stiles, he couldn’t stop smiling either. 

—

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it! Leave a kudos or a comment to let me know what you think! :)


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